Resort Area: Battle Time!
by videogamevinnie
Summary: Ash returns home after losing to Paul in the Semifinals. He decides to travel to the Sinnoh Resort Area to challenge the Battle Area! In a search for power, Paul awakens a beast capable of destroying the world. Will Ash save the world with a friend?AaMayL
1. Homeward Bound

Sorry about the wait for a story, everyone. This story is hopefully going to be my best yet. The reason is, to be honest, all my other stories were written from a seemingly good idea in my head, improvising as I went. This story, I have a plan and an outline! And I think it's awesome! I hope to have about 9 chapters, but I'll probably end up with less...or more! Get on with the stories. Oh, in case you slow people don't realize, these characters belong to the Pokemon Anime, not me...please enjoy!

* * *

"Oooooh…" Ash groaned, "What **time** is it, Max?" 

"Uh…10:42," Max replied after glancing at his handy PokeNav. "You were gonna sleep through Brock's awesome breakfast!"

"I definitely don't get enough sleep around here…" Ash countered, only for Max to reel in his victory.

"Well, then, if you want sleep, then miss out on food!"

"Aw fine, I'll get up…"

"Good! You know, you're just like my sister! I had to wake her up the same way. You both love food **too** much!"

"What's not to love about food, Max? Right Pikachu?" Ash asked with a wide grin on his face, only for the stretching and yawning mouse to reply with a sleepy "Chaaaaa"

Max chuckled at Pikachu's reply, then said: "Whatever, Ash. We're out there waiting to be able to eat!" and left the tent.

Ash grumbled a little, then remembered he was getting up for food! Throwing on his usual outfit of his jacket, shoes, hat, Pikachu…wait a minute! Pikachu isn't an accessory! Oh right, Pikachu just likes to perch on Ash's shoulder.

Walking out of the tent, Ash took a look at the surroundings again, taking in all of the life in the woods. To his left was an impressive waterfall, which was just right to stand under as an improvised shower, as it was just weak enough. In fact, the waterfall was the reason he chose this spot to spend the night before traveling on again to claim the next Frontier Symbol that was rightfully his. The actual area the tents were placed in was a green-with-grass clearing, with many wonderful wild Pokemon just waiting to be watched.

Walking over to the makeshift kitchen they had set near Brock, Ash scooted onto the log, next to May, as he usually did. When he did so, May whispered to him urgently: "Come with me when I get more firewood, I need to tell you something…"

* * *

"Ash, wake up!" 

Ash groaned, not wanting to wake up. He threw the covers over his head in order to escape the girl. Without even looking, he knew who it was. He was traveling with Dawn back to Pallet Town, after losing to none other than Paul in the Sinnoh semi-finals. He remebered she never changed outfits, with the pink miniskirt and go-go boots fitting her style. She also wore the same navy-blue vest over a white undershirt. The good news is that Paul lost the next battle.

"Ash! Come on! I wanted to at least spend this day on the boat doing something!" she exclaimed, throwing the covers off the bed and to a place he couldn't reach.

Getting up, he told Dawn: "I'm sorry, it's just that I keep getting woken up during the part of my dream I want to see most."

She pondered a moment, then asked: "Was this May you keep talking about in it?"

"Yeah, why?" he replied calmly.

"Oh, no reason…" she said, not getting the reaction she wanted.

"Well, I'm getting up, so what do you want to do, Dawn?" he asked, grabbing his day clothes and heading into the restroom to change.

"Oh! I want to…oh never mind, he won't hear me in there." Then she started talking to Pikachu, who was left out of the bathroom. "Pikachu, I'm going to get to tell him today!"

"Tell me what, Dawn?" Ash asked, getting out of the bathroom all changed.

Ash surprised her, so she got flustered trying to think of how to get out of it. "Er…just that I'm so excited to see your hometown!" She had very brilliant blushes peeking through her cheeks, but gladly for her, Ash didn't notice.

"Well, I didn't hear you say anything after I asked, but what did you want to do on the boat today so badly?"

"I wanted to spend the day with you!" Dawn told him with a smile, but dropped to an angry frown. "Not have someone sleeping all day like yesterday!"

"I'm sorry, I'll do whatever you want!"

"Well…since today we'll be docking…how about we spend this time to walk around the boat together!"

"Er…ok. I'd love to." Under his breath, he added: "Thank you! I thought I would have to spend an hour in the shops waiting for her to decide between hairsprays or something."

Upon reaching an unpopulated are of the deck, Dawn released Buneary. It looked around furiously for something, and hearts seemed to pop up in its eyes spotting its prey hanging near the guard rail. As Buneary hopped straight to Pikachu, Dawn wondered aloud: "I guess Pikachu finally gave up trying to get away from Buneary! I wonder what that would mean for us if our Pokemon fell in love with each other…" while nudging Ash in the side.

"I guess I would have to disown Pikachu, because I know something must not have been right in his head or something!" He exclaimed, earning a disgruntled Dawn.

"Ash! I was referring to the saying of 'if two trainer's Pokemon fall in love, the trainers are bound to follow'!"

"Oh…sorry. I forgot about that saying!" He paused to think… "Then what about May and I's Bulbasaurs, Pikachu? They love each other, don't they? So what does that mean about May and I, Dawn?"

"Oh…probably nothing!" she exclaimed hurriedly, "I'm sure there are exceptions!"

"Yeah…you're probably right. I couldn't imagine liking May like that. She's a very good friend of mine."

Shortly after the conversation, the boat docked in little Pallet Town, letting its passengers out.

"This place is beautiful! No wonder your Mom lives here!"

"Heh…well, if you want to compare cities, Floaroma Town is much better looking."

"Yeah, but Floaroma town is the most beautiful city in all of the regions!"

"Too bad I couldn't make Poffins right or else I might've enjoyed our stay better."

"Just because you burned them doesn't mean they're terrible, Ash."

"Yeah, you're right, Dawn! Hey Pikachu! You did like those Poffins I made, right?"

At this, the lightning mouse ran all the way back to Ash's house, causing the two friends to chase after it. Dawn was slightly behind, because she didn't know the way. They passed many houses, while nearly exhausting themselves, it was getting to be a large town. The most prominent site to Dawn was the large house in the back of the area, which remarked Prof. Oak's lab from the t.v. When Ash and Dawn reached the house, Pikachu had already gone to the door, waiting for Ash to open the door. When he did so, the electric mouse ran inside, sniffing the house, and ran up to his bedroom. When he walked into the Living Room, he found his mother, Delia.

"Mom! I'm home finally!"

Delia turned toward Ash with a warm smile. "How are you, dear?"

"Absolutely great! Hey, Mom, I'd like you to meet my friend, Dawn!" he replied, pointing toward the petite girl behind him as she walked him.

As she came in, his mother looked very surprised at the fact that he brought this girl home with him after his journey. She also seemed rather frightened of that fact also.

"…Mom, what's wrong?"

"…Oh! Nothing, I'm sorry! It's very nice to finally meet you in person, Dawn!" Her demeanor seemed to go back to pleasant and pleased mom, which Dawn seemed to wonder why she was like that at the sight of her.

"Likewise!" Dawn replied.

"Ash, there's a little surprise for you up in your bedroom for you coming back on your long journey. I'm sure you'll be very pleased! Go ahead up there and see what it is, you two."

"Ok, Mom." Ash said, the curiosity intriguing him as he and Dawn went up the same flight of stairs that Pikachu had shot up momentarily ago.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I am begging all readers, even unsigned, to review. The main reason I tried a different approach is because I felt my stories were seriously flawed, with good ideas, but terrible ways of telling them. This is the first chapter of hopefully nine, and I probably am going to start on the second right away! I got some comments and warnings (yikes!) about begging for reviews. Well, I haven't written in forever, and there was a reason. I'm just hoping people can enjoy my story. Thank you. And let me use the more common summary: rate and review 


	2. Leaving So Soon?

Hi all you wonderful readers. It took me too long for this chapter, in my opinion, because of school. I never did like homework. At least it's here. Please enjoy. Also, most will be surprised at the surprise.

* * *

Ash and Dawn climbed up the old stairs, going up to Ash's room to see the surprise. He paused for a second for Dawn to catch up, and then slowly opened the door. When the door was open, Ash was the first to step in and look to see the surprise. When he did so, he saw the surprise. It was a very special friend of his that he hadn't seen in what seemed like forever. It was _May_. She still wore a similar style of clothing that Ash always remembered her in. She had on a completely red-dominant outfit, a red blouse with a navy-blue pattern around the neck and a white trim, navy-blue biker shorts, and a red bandanna with a pokeball symbol which she tied neatly and wore proudly to top her outfit off, while covering her long brunette hair.

She was studying his collection of badges and awards from all of his exploits, seeming to be looking in specific toward the Hoenn badges and at the Frontier Symbols.

"May? What are you doing here?" Ash called.

At the sound of Ash's voice, May whirled around swiftly because she was caught off guard.

"Ash! You're finally here. I've been waiting for what felt like forever. I was wondering how long it would take you to get up here after Pikachu came up here to greet me. I wanted to wait in the living room to catch you when you came in but…" she blurted out and paused, looking at the smaller girl who had just gotten through the doorway. "Er…who is _she_?" she asked, narrowing her eyebrows.

"This is Dawn, May. I started traveling with her when she started her journey in Sinnoh. Dawn, meet May."

"Hello, Dawn."

"Hi."

"This is great! You're both coordinators. You two should become friends really quick."

"She is?" May asked, referring to Dawn. "Wow! Have you competed in any Grand Festivals yet?" she asked, brightening up talking to another coordinator.

"Yeah, I just started out coordinating. I competed in the Sinnoh Grand Festival and got in the top eight."

"Hey, I got in the top eight in my first festival too." May said.

With that, the two chatting coordinators walked through the door and down the stairs, leaving Ash behind.

"Pikachu…did May and Dawn just forget about me?" Ash wondered.

"Pika?"

"Come on, buddy, let's see if they remember who I am." Ash joked, And Pikachu hopped down the stairs with Ash.

* * *

When Ash came back down to the living room, the two girls were already talking strategies. Pikachu ran over to May and jumped into her lap. To remind them that he was there, he cleared his throat rather loudly. When the two noticed him, he slid into the couch May was sitting on.

"Ash, is Dawn your girlfriend? She seems like such an amazing person." May asked, as Delia finished what she was doing in the kitchen and sat down next to Dawn in the only available seat left.

"Dawn? No. She is a good friend of mine now though." Ash stated.

With that, May noticed a slight change in Dawn's composure. It was almost a disappointed look on her face, but at a blink of an eye she was back to normal. May was the only one who noticed, and told herself to remember that for later.

"Oh, ok." May acknowledged.

"Although, the way Ash talked about you during our journey in Sinnoh would've made anyone think there was something between you two." Dawn said, hoping to get a funny answer from them while giggling.

"Oh really? Ash, is that true? I'm flattered…" May said, cupping a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle giggles, but failing.

"Like I said, Dawn, we're really good friends." Ash replied.

"I know, Ash. I was just trying to see your reaction…" Dawn said with a smile. "But you didn't really react at all."

"Oh, you know my Ash, he's too dense for that kind of thing, girls. I'm sure there were at least a few girls he met that liked him on his journey, and he couldn't notice even if they explained it too him directly." Delia said, after which the two girls and laughed and agreed.

"What do you mean, mom?" Ash asked, a little confused as to the meaning of her words.

"I mean, it's getting late and we need to eat." Delia explained, avoiding her son's question.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed, loving food as he always did and immediately forgetting that he wanted an answer from his mom.

"Yes! I'm hungry…." May chimed in, loving food as much as Ash always did and probably would be his best opponent in an eating contest.

This only got Dawn to shake her head in disgust because she though she could never see another person get that excited over food.

Delia got up to go put the meal on the table, and the three trainers followed.

* * *

The meal was a very hearty meal to celebrate Ash's return as Delia usually did. Ash and May ate the most of it all, and Delia and Dawn were barely able to get their fill before the two big eaters devoured it all. After the meal, Ash was looking through a brochure he got at the port in Sinnoh, while piping into the conversation when he heard his name.

"I know I just got home, but I'm trying to think of where I should go next…" Ash stated during a pause in the group's conversation.

"Already? Have you thought of a place yet, Ash?" May asked.

"Yeah, actually. In this brochure, there's a big island called the Resort Area in Sinnoh. It's got a really big tower called the Battle Tower, and I think it'd be perfect to see how good I am at battling, right Pikachu?" Ash replied, and Pikachu gave an excited "Pikachu!"

"The Resort Area? I know that place; it's second only to Valor Lakefront in terms of hotel quality! They get a full five stars every year! I'd love to go there!" Dawn explained to everyone, knowing the Sinnoh area the best because she lives there. "They also have a great shopping area right next to the Battle Tower, so you and I should love it there, May!"

"It sounds wonderful, honey. You should go with all your friends. I'm sure you'll love it." Delia said.

"I guess we're going then…I can't wait to have an intense battle there!" Ash said.

"Can Max come?" May asked, adding to the plans.

"Sure, and Brock and Misty should come too." Ash decided, "I'll go call them now."

"I'll call home for Max after you're done." May said.

After Ash went to the phone in the living room, he picked it up and dialed for Misty at the Cerulean Gym. After it rang, Misty picked it up.

"Hello, this is the Cerulean Gym." A girl said.

"Hi Misty." Ash replied to the voice.

"Ash! You're home already! It's good to hear from you."

"Same. Listen Misty, would you like to come with me to the Resort Area in Sinnoh? If you go, then it'll be the whole group!" Ash told her.

"…sorry Ash. I can't, you know that. I still need to keep up with the gym. You know that my sisters couldn't possibly give a decent fight to any trainer even if there was a step by step manual. They would be giving out far too many badges." Misty replied. This earned a laugh from Ash.

"That's terrible. I wish you could come." Ash said.

"I do too, but my sisters just can't handle it."

"Ok, Misty. So how _is_ the gym?" Ash asked.

"It's ok. I certainly have been in some interesting battles. What? What do you mean you can't feed Gyarados? Ash, I've got to go, it seems my sisters are too afraid of Gyarados to feed him, so I have to. Bye." Misty said, before hanging up.

"_So Misty isn't coming, what about Brock_" Ash asked himself, dialing his number at the gym.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen after talking on the phone, May sat down.

"So Max can take a boat." May explained.

"Brock can come, but Misty has to take care of the Cerulean gym." Ash explained too.

"With the addition of Dawn, this'll be like when we were traveling together, Ash." May said.

"You're right; this'll be a lot of fun." Ash agreed.

"So you plan to leave tomorrow? That's so soon…" Delia asked, trying to confirm.

"I'm sorry I'm leaving so soon, mom, but I'm already excited to go out and battle other trainers! At least we won't be gone as long as I have been when participating in a League." Ash said, pausing. "I'll probably be home in a month or less, mom."

"I'm not worried about you going away again; it's just that you got home only a few hours ago."

After all the plans were set, the three trainers planned to go the next morning and meet up with Max and Brock at the Resort Area.

The group was getting ready for bed, and Ash wanted one of his guests to use his bed instead of him. He couldn't decide between the two, so he just told them it was available. He and Pikachu, being ready, settled into the couch nearest the kitchen, and fell asleep dreaming the same dream he had been dreaming every night lately. Deciding to sleep near Ash, May gave up the opportunity to have a bed to Dawn. Smiling at the lightly snoring Ash, May slipped into the other couch and fell asleep too.

* * *

So, that was the second chapter. I tried my best to correct all the errors and stuff my reviewers mentioned, so please tell m if I did well enough. I went back and slightly edited my first chapter for future readers, and you wouldn't be missing any plot if you don't go back to it. I really hope to get the next chapter out sooner than this one did. Please rate and review? 


	3. Swellow VS Staraptor

Thanks for all the kind reviews. It's nice to know that I'm improving. Sorry to keep you waiting. I started this Monday and finished just a few minutes ago...I hope it good. Have a nice read.

* * *

"May, what is it?" Ash asked, looking at the girl who had told him to come to her when she was collecting firewood. "It sounded urgent."

"Pika?" The small lighting mouse asked also, clinging to its trainer's shoulder.

"Yes…it is urgent. I don't really know how to say it. All I know is that I have to…"

At that moment, Ash felt the weight of his best from disappear from his shoulder.

"Pikachu?" he asked turning around to find the mouse. When he did so, he saw emerge over the top of the waterfall a familiar balloon in the likeness of a Meowth.

"Team Rocket! Give me Pikachu back!" Ash yelled at the trio of unwanted interrupters.

"Prepare for trouble from the skies" a woman's voice said, known as the hot-headed Jessie.

"From beyond the waterfall a nasty surprise." A man's voice quivered.

"An evil as old as the galaxy..." Jessie continued.

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny." James finished.

"Plus dere's me!" the little cat, Meowth added.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"And Meowth are da' names!"

"Anywhere there's peace in the universe…" Jessie started.

"Team Rocket..." James continued

"...Will be dere..." Meowth said.

"To make everything worse!" They all said, finishing the motto.

"Wooobuffet!"

"Chime Chiiiime!"

"Why can't you just leave us alone?!" Ash yelled out, getting mad at the trio for taking Pikachu again.

"We're sorry we interrupted you two twerp's alone time!" Meowth teased, using his new contraption to steal the electric mouse.

Pikachu was flailing in the spherical cage, sending out bolts trying unsuccessfully to escape.

(Why did these losers have to ruin my chance to tell him?) May thought to herself.

"These bars are made out of a material that isn't metal for once! It's made out of wood so the lightning doesn't conduct very well, does it?" Meowth taunted.

"Go, Blaziken! Burn that prison and rescue Pikachu!" May shouted out, releasing her impressive humanoid bird pokemon.

* * *

"Ash…wake up. You overslept. We're going to be late for the boat if you don't hurry." A familiar feminine voice said, causing him to rouse.

"May…" Ash said, still thinking of his dream.

"Yes, Ash?" she replied.

"Thank-you for saving Pikachu." He explained.

"Er…Ash, I think you aren't awake quite yet."

"Heh…yeah, and he must've had a dream about you, May." Dawn teased.

At this, May had a blush grow on her cheeks and trying to hide it began to shake the drowsy trainer on the sofa. When he finally was up and sitting up, he thought for a moment and said:

"Oh no! I totally forgot! I still need to decide what Pokemon I'm going to bring to the Battle Tower!" He cried.

"And we're late. Great, just like always. Good going Ash." Dawn said, with a tint of sarcastic evident.

"I need to head straight to Prof. Oak's lab right away!" Ash exclaimed, leaping off the couch.

He swiftly flew up the stairs to his room and threw on more presentable clothes. He was back down in a flash, evading his mother, and began running straight to the most impressive building in the area, with Pikachu trailing behind. Without him realizing, May was running behind him and catching up. When Ash reached the back of the property, May had caught up and was running right alongside him.

Catching his breath, he managed out: "Since when could you run like that?"

"Since I had to keep up with Drew and everybody else in Johto. I knew I had to train just like I trained my Pokemon, like you did. Now I can run better than you? That's pretty sad, Ash. How much training did you actually do, Ash?" she answered, adding a crack in too.

At the sound of Drew, he burned inside, but not knowing why decided to ignore it.

"I did plenty!" he shot back, crossing his arms. "I just let you catch up is all."

"Yeah, right. Of course. Anyways, I came because I wanted to pick up my Bulbasaur."

"Oh yeah, I forget yours was here too."

The two walked further into the ranch's massive field that was used for the Pokemon's holding. When they did so, they found Tracey. He had not changed at all. He must have still enjoyed working with Professor Oak because he was out there, feeding and tending to the Pokemon.

"Ash! Great to see you back!" Tracey began, then looked towards May. "May? I wasn't expecting you at all. Great to see you, too!"

"Hey Tracey, I'm really sorry, but I'm in a rush! You see, we're gonna be late for the boat, and I…"

Ash was cut off by Tracey, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"Oh, your Pokemon, they're all over there." He said, pointing. "Oh, and 'we'? Are you two a couple now?"

"Er…no. Why would we be? We're really good friends though." Ash replied.

Giving him a look that said _what's with this guy?_, he said: "Oh, sorry. My mistake. It's just that your Bulbasaur clearly could not be any closer. You should know about how when two Pokemon fall in love, the trainers are bound to follow, so I just assumed. Again, sorry."

"That's ok. Thanks Tracey. Sorry to see you and run, but like I said, we're gonna be late!" He said, beginning to head off with May in the direction Tracey pointed.

"See you when you get back from wherever you're going, I guess." Tracey muttered to himself, watching the two running off.

When they got to Ash's Pokemon, Ash and May noticed that Tracey was right. While keeping the ranch in order, their Bulbasaur were tighter than tight. As soon as Ash walked up to his Pokemon, he let out all of his Sinnoh collection. He let out Floatzel, Staraptor, Grotle, and Chimchar. He introduced them all to his old Pokemon, and then to May, as they hadn't seen her yet. Pikachu began exchanging news with the rest of Ash's Pokemon and catching up a little. The Pokemon were all really happy to see him, and May couldn't help but notice that specifically. There were cries of "Swellow!" and "Bayleef!" and there was Sceptile resting against the nearest tree. There was Glalie, and Cyndaquil, and Totodile, and Torkoal, and there were Tauros rampaging in the back fields. The rest were Corphish, Donphan, Noctowl, Heracross, and Kingler, and Muk, and Snorlax was off sleeping in a wide clearing to the left. The two Bulbasaur had both run up to Ash and May, and May picked her's up.

"You're coming with me, Bulbasaur." May said promptly, and hearing that it turned its head to Ash's Bulbasaur and started squirming to get out of May's arms.

"Ash…I think you need to bring Bulbasaur with you, too. My Bulbasaur isn't leaving without him." She stated, matter-of-factly.

"But that wasn't the plan…the Bulbasaurs can stay here. There's no need to worry about them."

"Ash, you're bringing Bulbasaur. He's a very strong Pokemon and you know it." She stated.

Ash knew after how long he had traveled with her, that way of talking meant _do it or be sorry_. He knew from experience. So Bulbasaur was his first choice.

"There are so many good choices…guys, I'm going to the Battle Tower in Sinnoh and I need an awesome team to beat those other trainers! Who wants to go!?" he asked, knowing the answer.

They all started to cry their name and jump up and down because they all wanted some action again.

"I don't know who to pick…I know Pikachu coming with me…and…Bulbasaur. How about Sceptile?" he added, referring to the lounging Pokemon who was aroused by his name.

"Maybe you should pick one of your flying types, Ash." May proposed, knowing exactly what kind of team he would need and want.

"Yeah…but Staraptor or Swellow?" he added, going into deep thought.

At this, the two birds began to stare menacingly at each other. Swellow began making faces at Staraptor. Staraptor started yelling at Swellow in their language. They clearly wanted to fight each other.

May noticed this, so she told Ash to let them battle each other for the chance.

"That's a good idea. Swellow, Staraptor, how about you two race each other to see who goes?"

The two birds were to fly from the starting line to Ash's house, then to the port on the outskirts and make a beeline straight back to Ash and May. Sceptile would run after them to make sure they stayed with the course and didn't cheat the race. The winner would come to the Resort Area with Ash and battle in the Battle Tower. After letting them prepare, Ash started the countdown.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One!" Ash yelled, commencing the quick race. (At least for the birds)

Swellow was making faces again, so Staraptor was too preoccupied to begin the race. Swellow was in the lead, and Staraptor needed to make up time. Sceptile easily leapt from branch to branch, keeping up. Staraptor caught up and started pecking Swellow, which was ok as it was a (anything goes) race. They neared the house and both had to swerve around Dawn who was heading toward the lab. She was confused as to why either Pokemon would be racing like that, but shrugged it off and kept going. The two flew over the house and Staraptor succeeded in slowing down Swellow. They reached the pier and spun aroung and gave their last bits of energy. They both were putting their all into this last stretch. As they reached the trees, Swellow knew the way a little better and took a shortcut. Noticing this, Staraptor gave his last measure of speed.

* * *

The weird thing is...I was planning on having Ash and co. be in the Resort Area by the end of this chapter...but I hatched a nice idea...

Oh, and I had the hardest time deciding on Ash's team should be. Same with Dawn, May, Max, and Brock... Although...I really don't need suggestions, except maybe one for May and one for Dawn. I might like your idea better than mine...so if you don't like my future choices then too bad. :P

R&R


	4. SS Rocket

I just realized how steep a cliffy that last chapter was. Sorry. I also noticed I got one or less reviews for last chapter. Not happy. Oh well. I can just get worse in my writing skills, no big deal. Enjoy.

* * *

Ash noticed one of his bird Pokemon burst through the trees. Then the other was right behind the first, bursting through the trees from a different direction. They were clearly trying their best, in Ash's opinion. Staraptor was getting the best go; probably because of the pecking it gave Swellow earlier. When Staraptor made it back first, Ash was both happy for it and sad for Swellow. They both really wanted to go.

"Great job Staraptor, you won!" Ash congratulated, nodding toward the winner, "Swellow, I'm really sorry you lost. You definitely did a great job!" Ash told the glum bird, then lowered down to it to whisper, "You'll be able to duel Staraptor again when I get back. I want you to train so hard that you completely wipe out the competition. That would be something to see. It really hates anybody better than it, so try."

"Ash, I think we need to speed things up a little, we are definitely late." May said.

"Ash! May! I finally found you two, I have no idea how to get around here…and I had no idea how far it was to Prof. Oak's lab from your house…" said another girl's voice.

It was Dawn. She must have come to alert them of how late they were again.

"Oh really now? Well May and I just ran the entire way to get here! How can _you_ be tired?" Ash joked, hinting at how badly in shape she seemed.

"Oh yeah? How's about when I sprained my ankle? I hobbled faster than you could walk in your "dead hungry" mode." Dawn retorted.

Ash got flustered, so he had to stop it right there.

"Ok, so…Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Staraptor…how about…Cyndaquil! He surveyed the group again. Snorlax! And…Floatzel!" Ash decided. "Yeah, I can see it now. My best buddy, an amazing little fire type, a supersonic flying-type, a super-ton powerhouse, and the most battle-savvy water-type I've ever seen. And Bulbasaur."

"Yeah…I guess you've got yourself a winning team." Dawn admitted.

"Come on everybody! We've got to roll!" Ash exclaimed.

As if on cue, Tracey arrived with all his old Pokemon's pokeballs and Ash called Cyndaquil, Snorlax, and Bulbasaur into some on the tray. He recalled Staraptor and Floatzel and was ready to go.

"Sorry again, Tracey, but we are definitely in a hurry." Ash yelled back to Tracey, as the three friends dashed back to the main town.

The three ran all the way back to Ash's house, and Dawn lagged behind. Ash ran inside to say his final goodbyes, and the three ran all the way to the docks, with Pikachu clinging to Ash's shoulder for dear life, so they could take the five hour boat trip to the Resort Area. Upon reaching the docks, they noticed a large ship, and a small boat. The small boat appeared to be run by two middle aged people, a man and a woman, and a very short man. The other ship seemed out at sea going out…wait a second! Away?!

"Oh, no! The ship's leaving already! We gotta get to it somehow! Go, …" Ash exclaimed, reaching for a Pokeball on his belt, but was cut off by May grabbing his shoulder.

"Ash, we're too late, we'll never get to the ship now. Please don't try to get on there."

"…yeah, you're right. So now what?" Ash questioned.

"Now I guess we wait till tomorrow." Dawn chipped in, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"I guess Brock and Max will wonder where we are. We'll have to call them." May replied.

"All that hurrying for nothing…" Ash concluded, disappointed he would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Pikaa…"

Just then, the taller man from the other boat ran up to the three.

"Excuse me for listening in, but did I hear that you need a boat ride to the Sinnoh Resort Area?" the man asked them.

"Yeah, we just missed the ferry." Ash told him.

"Well then, we were going to head there in just a few minutes." He explained, pausing for effect, "Say! I know! How about you come with us on our boat, the S.S. Rocket!"

"That'd be great!" Dawn replied, "Thank you!"

"It would be our pleasure! Step aboard!" the woman exclaimed, very cheerfully.

They all got on, along with the two men and the woman, and the three strangers set the boat up to head for the Resort Area.

(The boat trip will not be explained in great detail because it was rather boring and eventless) One highlight of the trip was that Ash leaned over the railing and looked at to sea and May and Dawn wanted to keep him company by leaning on the railing of the little boat too. They talked in this position nearly the whole time, as the trip was truly boring and eventless.

The little S.S. Rocket followed the ferry all the way into the dock of the amazing Resort Area. The boat pulled into a slot and when it stopped our trio gave their thanks and began to walk off and away.

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that." The man stated, stepping off the boat as well.

"…what do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"Well look and see, twerps!" the short little man exclaimed.

The three did look back toward land, and indeed saw what he was referring to. There was a large wall appearing in their path.

"That's the Team Rocket insta-wall! Good luck getting around!" the little man exclaimed, throwing off his clothes.

The little man was in fact not a little man, but rather a little Pokemon.

"Meowth! I thought there was something fishy about the S.S. Rocket!" May cried, realization hitting her. "What do you want?!"

"Pikaa!" Pikachu, who was on Ash's shoulder yelled, now having his cheeks sparking.

"We'll be taking that Pikachu!" Meowth commanded, with the all too familiar Meowth balloon coming into view. It extended an arm, grabbing Pikachu and throwing it into a net.

"Is that a Pikachu I see?" said the woman,

"Is that a twerps' cries I hear?" said the man.

"The stars shine brightly to illuminate our prey," Meowth explained.

"Jesse," the woman said.

"James," the man added.

"Meowth's da name!" Meowth finished.

"Team Rocket will be there, to earn a bite to eat." the three said at once.

"When we are around, people cringe in terror," Jesse told them.

"Because we protect the balance of good and evil," James explained.

"And we will be 'dere…to make everything worse!" Meowth finished.

"Good luck trying to get Pikachu back, too." Meowth said confidently, "This balloon and net are made out of rubber!" Meowth elaborated; the three jumping into the balloon and quickly flying back up.

"No electricity, or razor leaf, or any wing is going to get through this good plan!" Jessie exclaimed.

"And it cost us a pretty penny. My poor remaining bottle caps!" James finished, beginning to weep.

Thinking quickly about what Jessie just said, May got an idea.

"Yeah, but you forgot about me! Go, Blaziken!" she said, throwing one her Pokeballs. "Melt that rubber with a Blaze Kick!"

With the command, Blaziken leaped straight up to the balloon with ease and Blaze Kicked the balloon, causing the hit part to melt, and the balloon to fall. As this happened, Ash could only stare in awe, due to the events being similar as to those in his dream. May saving Pikachu with her Blaziken.

The balloon fell back to them, within the wall. Pikachu was freed in the meantime. Not wanting to lose this way, Jessie sent out her Seviper. James was still lamenting over his bottle caps, so he was preoccupied. Not wanting to bother, Ash gave Pikachu the command to thunderbolt them, and he did so. The trio of "villains" blasted off…again.

As they blasted off, the wall disappeared back into the waiting concrete.

"Well…that was weird." Ash summarized.

"Yeah. Never take a boat ride with a man a woman and a shorty." Dawn joked.

"Let's just get over to the nearest Pokemon center…and see if we can catch up with Brock and Max." May said, wanting to get moving.

The three traveled onto solid ground, and got some weird looks from the ferry passengers getting off, as that scuffle with Team Rocket wasn't exactly normal. No-one really knew Team Rocket anywhere except in Kanto yet. Embarrassed, the three quickened their pace, and Pikachu scurried to get back on Ash's shoulder. They only had to walk a short bit, as the main area set up for tourists was right beyond the docks. They walked right in, and walked to the counter. There was no Nurse Joy at the counter, which was awfully strange…

The three looked around, until they noticed some familiar faces with Nurse Joy over a ways.

"Nurse Joy…we were meant to be. My heart has aching for this moment for a long time. Please come with me-" Brock started, but was cut off by Max pulling his ear.

"Come on, creep. We need to find Ash and May." He commanded, and then turned his attention towards Nurse Joy, "I'm really sorry about his behavior, Nurse Joy. He just has some strange illness, I believe. He should be fine in a few minutes. Anyway, have you seen a trainer and coordinator by the names of Ash and May?"

"No…I'm sorry, I haven't. No-one by those names have come by yet…"

"I've seen them…" May started, walking up to Max, who still had Brock by the ear.

"You have! That's great! Where are th-" Max exclaimed, turning toward the voice, "May! It's so good to see you again, finally! Why didn't you come home immediately?"

"I had to see a friend again…" she explained.

"You mean Ash? That explains it! D'you tell him yet?"

"W-what!? Max!" she outburst, and leaned to whisper in his ear, "I don't know how you think you're right about whatever you're thinking about, but do not bring it up. We'll talk about this later…"

"Right…Ash! It's been forever! What Pokemon have you caught?! I didn't get to see the Sinnoh Conference, so did you win!? Did yo-" Max burst, but was cut off by Ash.

"Whoah there, slow down! I did well enough…not win, though. It's great to see you too! How's your journey going?" Ash asked.

"It's going really well! I got a Treecko, just like you! I also caught a Ralts!" he exclaimed, caught up in his attempt at bragging, "And I already got my second badge!"

"You did? That's great!" Ash told him.

"Yeah Max, that's awesome!"

"Oh…my aching ear," said the hurting Brock.

"Oh, Brock! You're here too! That's great!" May exclaimed, noticing him for the first time, due to him being pulled on his ear the whole time. "Max, you can let go of him now, Nurse Joy's gone."

"Oh. Right, sorry Brock" Max apologized, after holding him too long.

"Ah! Much better! Hello, Ash! May! So good to see you! Dawn." He greeted, nodding his head to each. "I'll bet you already signed up for the next tournament, right?"

"Wha…? What tournament…? I almost forgot! I'm gonna be late! We gotta go then!" Ash asked, then exclaimed, "I gotta get over to the Battle Tower then before it's closed!" and he ran off with Pikachu clinging for dear life on his shoulder again.

"Ash, wait up! We're coming with you!" Max yelled after him, but he was pretty much gone.

The remainder of the group rushed after him, hoping to see the Battle Tower too.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. Also hope you're happy with Ash's team. Rate and Review. Oh, and I keep coming up with ideas on the fly, even though I thought I had it all planned out. Oh well. Something I'm sorry about is that I haven't exactly had too many Advanceshippy "hints" in yet. I've had the idea mentioned...but that's not good enough. Tell me what you think. Oh yeah...one more thing, I made up a new Team Rocket motto. Feel free to touch on what you make of it. Hope you enjoyed. 


	5. Fight to Fight

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It has a battle. So...something is bothering me about this chapter. It has a ton of words...but it doesn't seem like enough. I know I'll make you inclined to think so, but I think there's something wrong with this chapter. Have a nice read.

* * *

"Ash! Wait up already!" Max yelled ahead, tired of trying to catch up with Ash on the way to the Battle Tower. The group was nearly there, so it wouldn't have helped.

The group stopped in their tracks when they saw the building. It was perhaps the tallest building they had ever seen. It was easily 100 stories. They could not think of why they hadn't seen it in the distance earlier on the way. It was all glass, and it was very fancy in design. The setting sun reflected off of the glass, and the effect was spectacular. After staring in awe, they were brought back to reality by Pikachu.

"Pikaa…"

"That is one big building." Brock concluded, and the group agreed before walking inside.

Once inside, they were in a magnificent lobby. There were trainers abound. It wasn't as brilliant as the outside, but it was still a mighty sight. The trainers walked over to the counter. Ash was about to say something to the lady at the desk, but Brock got to her first.

"Excuse me miss. I believe you and I should get together some time. Maybe some dinner…or…AUGH!-"

Poor Brock. He got Poison Jabbed by Croagunk…

"Oh man…I forgot Croagunk was freshly healed at the Pokemon Center. Shoot." He huffed as he was dragged out the door by a croaking victorious Croagunk.

"Croagunk? Who's that?" May asked, pulling out her recently updated Pokedex. She pointed it in the direction of the always-frowning purple frog-like figure dragging Brock to who-knows-where.

_Croagunk, the Poison Frog Pokemon. It inflates its cheeks with its poisonous mixtures to croak. It uses Poison Jab to poison its enemies_.

"So that's what Brock's talking about…" Max conceived.

"Sorry miss…my friend gets like that sometimes. Please excuse him. He'll be normal when he comes back. Can you please tell me how to sign up for this tournament?" Ash explained.

"Oh, why…yes. Do you have a partner, sir?" the lady asked.

"A…partner? Why?"

"You don't know? Our most recent event here at the battle tower is a Tag Battle Tournament. Two trainers will compete against other teams to win. If a team gets two losses, they are out. The trainers will keep battling until there are three teams left. Then our computer will decide how it plays out for the winner." The lady explained.

"Oh, that ok. Hey May?" he asked, "Do you want to compete with me in this tournament?"

"What's that, Ash? Dawn and I are gonna battle to see who can compete with you since you can't decide." May explained.

"But May…I-"

"No buts! You don't have to worry about your decision; we'll make your decision for you."

"A battle, eh? I'll be the referee." Brock mentioned, appearing out of nowhere.

Outside in the garden, the battle started.

"Ok, the battle between Dawn and May will begin! Each side will use three Pokemon. The winner gets to compete with Ash in the tournament. Go!" Brock announced.

"Alright Prinplup, spotlight!" Dawn called, releasing her Penguin Pokemon onto the field.

"Ok, Blaziken, take the stage!" May called out, releasing her bird-like Pokemon.

"Ok Prinplup, Bubblebeam!"

At the command, the Penguin shot many bubbles toward his opponent. Because it was so quick to attack, Blaziken didn't have too much time to react. Because of the unfavorable matchup, Blaziken was already getting tired.

"Blaziken…use Sky Uppercut!"

Running toward Prinplup, it made contact and kicked it upwards, jumped up and gave it some kicks, letting it fall hard to the ground.

"Hurry Prinplup, use Whirlpool to trap Blaziken!"

Prinplup called upon water and kept it twirling like a whirlpool. It threw this energy at Blaziken and trapped it in the swirling waters. Blaziken was receiving plenty damage from whirlpool.

"Time to finish this, Prinplup. Use Peck!"

"Prinplup sped toward the stuck Blaziken and got a clear shot at it, and Blaziken fainted a few seconds afterwards. Blaziken gave a moan of defeat, and was recalled.

"Blaziken is unable to battle. May, please send out your next Pokemon." Brock said.

"Ok. Go, Bulbasaur!" she cried, throwing her Grass-type Pokemon out.

Because of her sending Bulbasaur out, Ash decided to let his Bulbasaur out to watch. It cheered for its love when it realized who was battling.

"_Uh oh…a grass-type against my Prinplup. I might have trouble...oh yeah! It's ok, I can still beat it. No need to worry_!" Dawn thought to herself.

"Hurry Prinplup, Whirlpool!" she commanded, hoping for a hit.

"Dodge and use Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur was able to sprint out of the way using its speed, and once it was out of range, it shot its vines at Prinplup. It hit the Pokemon as it was attempting another Whirlpool attack, and since it was already weak, it passed out.

"Prinplup is unable to continue fighting, please send out your next Pokemon, Dawn." Brock called as she returned her Prinplup.

Thinking for a second, she sent out her Ambipom. Ambipom stretched its twin limbs and was ready to go.

"Ambipom, use swift and get in for Focus Punch!"

It shot stars toward Bulbasaur with its tails to distract it and ran towards Bulbasaur. While it was dodging the stars, Ambipom got a clear shot with one of its tails' Focus Punches.

Bulbasaur slid back and was commanded to use Vine Whip for a faraway attack. The whips made contact, hurting Ambipom.

"Ambipom, get a Double Hit!"

Ambipom scampered to Bulbasaur and slammed both its tails into Bulbasaur, ensuring its demise.

"May's Bulbasaur is down, please send out your next Pokemon." Brock announced as Bulbasaur was brought over to Ash's.

Since she would be sending out her last Pokemon, May took awhile to decide who would be best suited for Ambipom and whatever Pokemon Dawn sent out next. After deciding she needed power, she sent out Munchlax.

"Munchlax, hurry in for your own Focus Punch!"

"Munchlax and Ambipom ran toward each other with fist and tails glowing. Before contact, Munchlax slipped under the tails and slammed its fist into Ambipom's stomach, making a very close call.

"Man, that Munchlax is raw power…" Dawn muttered to herself.

"Munchlax is unable to battle. Dawn wins!" Brock called, confusing the two battlers. After seeing the confused look on their faces, he realized his mistake. "Oops…you know what I meant."

Dawn decided to send Buneary out, and it instantly spotted Pikachu who watched intently. It really wanted to impress Pikachu by winning against this powerful Munchlax.

"Hurry Buneary, use your own Focus Punch!" and it hopped super-fast toward the Munchlax, who was in a defensive stance. Buneary hit it straight on in the cushiony belly of Munchlax, with its power-enough-to-make-a-grownup-cry-in-pain ear.

Little did Dawn nor Buneary realize, Munchlax's tummy is too fatty to cause much harm. When the attack was over, Munchlax swung its arm into Buneary as a Focus Punch, which knocked it away. Buneary was ordered to hit Munchlax on the head with a Dizzy Punch, and it made contact. Perhaps it was because it hit it on the head, that could've increased the chances, but Munchlax was definitely confused now. Taking advantage of this, Dawn ordered Buneary to throw as muny Focus Punches as it could muster. Meanwhile Munchlax was ordered to not attack, in case it hit itself, and try to avoid Focus Punches. Buneary made many hits, and Munchlax was really getting hurt. It seemed lucky, but Munchlax eventually broke its confusion and slammed one final return Focus Punch on the unprepared Buneary, knocking it out.

"Wow…May won with her Munchlax remaining, and will compete with Ash. Congratulations on an intense yet short battle, you two." Brock summed up.

May was excited. Since he wanted her to compete with him from the start, Ash cheered for her too. Dawn just dropped to her knees in disappointment. She picked up her Buneary and decided to make a break for it into the forest, letting tears start to fall from her face. Brock held Ash back from running after her, and told him to let her deal with it herself. That would be the best thing.

Dawn ran for what seemed like forever, and finally decided upon a nice place to stop and wallow in her own depression. She found a nice pond to relax next to and sat cross legged in front of it. She set Buneary down in front of her.

"I really wanted to win…so I could spend more bonding time with Ash. I feel (_terrible_) now that May is taking my spot."

Realizing her friend's depression over the matter, Buneary jumped into Dawn's lap. Dawn just hugged the little Buneary, and continued to sob.

"Thank-you, Buneary. This means a lot to me. You know, I've just decided recently that I liked Ash, too."

"Bun?!" (You did?!)

"I was hoping I could get some time with him, but this May is taking him from me. The way he acted when she won must mean he hates me, and likes May much more."

"Bun-eary…" (That's not true…)

"I guess you're right. Ash would never hate me. I just don't know what to do, Buneary."

She took a pause to think, still hugging the little Pokemon.

"Bun-eary, eary-Bun" (You need to try a little harder to get Ash's attention)

"You think that'll work? You mean like try harder to lay more hints down?"

There was a lull in the conversation, but at Buneary's recent words, Dawn's tears were beginning to dry up.

"That makes perfect sense! Thank-you so much Buneary!"

Dawn hugged Buneary extra-tightly for a few seconds, and all of this triggered a change in Buneary. Since Dawn had her eyes closed from her happiness in the solution, she dodn't notice the white light generated off from Buneary. What she did notice, however, is that Buneary was slowly taking up more room in her arms. When she realized this, she took her arms off of Buneary and opened her eyes.

"Buneary…? Wha…AAAHHH!-" she exclaimed, rolling backward in fright.

Dawn flipped open her Pokedex to see what the rabbit-like figure was.

"_Lopunny__, the Attraction __Pokemon__. It uses its great beauty and charm to attract many mates every mating season. It evolves from the __Pokemon__Buneary_"

"Buneary? Or…Lopunny? You are my Buneary, right?"

It nodded, but seemed depressed.

"Lo-punny!" (Now I'll never be able to make Pikachu like me!)

"Hm? According to the Pokedex, your beauty will attract many mates."

"Lop-unny, Lopun!" (What beauty? I just got bigger and meaner-looking, like all Pokemon do when they evolve!)

Lopunny hopped over to the water and looked at its reflection. It studied all the new parts of itself and was satisfied.

"Lopunny?" (That's me? There's no way I could be that pretty…)

"Yes…I guess it is you."

"Lopunny?" (I guess we should be heading back to Ash, right?)

"Right"

Dawn and Lopunny then ran back the same way Dawn had run in depression quite a few minutes before.

* * *

(Meanwhile, while these events were about to end)

"I've got to go find her!" Ash declared.

"Ash, she'll be better off on her own…" Brock explained.

"I don't care! I need to make sure she's ok!"

Ash then broke from Brock's grip and ran as fast as he could in the direction Dawn had run in earlier.

"Well…at least he cares about his friends…" Max muttered under his breath, making sure he remembered that Ash took off like that for Dawn.

Brock stored this fact too. He was beginning to make sense of the actions of a certain trainer and two coordinators. He would get the stories individually later.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu ran as fast as he could, and so did Dawn and Lopunny. Because they weren't paying much attention to what was in front of them, the four crashed into each other respectively. After recovering, the four jumped back up to see what they hit.

"Oh man…since when did vehicles plow through here…?" Ash got out, rubbing his aching forehead.

"Vehicle!? I'm a very skinny girl, thank-you! I am not big at all!" Dawn replied, also rubbing her aching forehead.

"Dawn? Aw man…I don't know what I did, but I want you to know whatever it was, I didn't mean for you to be hurt." Ash explained, standing up, "Why are you red?"

"Oh no! It's nothing!" she replied, telling herself to get over that encounter while she was busy thinking of him, "I just _really _wanted to compete with you…"

"Yeah, I noticed…you battled really well. Hey, since when did you have a Lopunny?"

"Hm? Oh, while I was by the pond, Buneary evolved! Isn't it great?"

By this time, the two Pokemon had recovered slightly and Pikachu got up and got his first look at Lopunny. He looked shocked, but noticed who it was. He asked if she was alright, while helping her up. She replied by saying how everything was positively great after Pikachu arrived very cheerfully. Getting confidence from the Pokedex's description of her, Lopunny tried to "flirt" per-say with Pikachu. He was taken aback, and asked her to stop, as he was uncomfortable. After she wouldn't stop being so forward, Pikachu took the other alternative: to run!

"Yeah, that's great. Listen, let's get back. I'm sure the others are worried. I sure was…that's why I ran out here."

_"He was worried about me? I have hope! He doesn't hate me…Lopunny's right"_

_

* * *

_

Thanks for reading. Something keeps bugging me about how this worked out. I can't decide what is is, so I put it up. R&R all. So basically next chapter will start with the two getting back to the group. I wanted to end somewhere around this point...so I ended right here.


	6. Surprise Encounters

Guys...you can do better:( I got ONE review! Last chapter was missing something big to me, and I wanted you guys to help me figure out what it was...but I'm gonna keep this story up, at least future readers will be able to read this good stuff.

I love this chapter. I feel I put so much soul into this one, when I read it aloud, I felt like I was there. Also, this has the most words yet. Yay!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Alright, we're all signed up," Ash declared, after getting through that dispute of the girls. He wanted May to compete with him from the start, but he got the feeling she was trying to compete with Dawn for some strange reason. 

"At least I get to compete too…" Dawn drawled, with disdain filling her voice. She agreed to sign up with Max, because he wanted to try his skill in the tournament too. Brock didn't feel the need to try, so Dawn wanted to give it a go. She reasoned to herself that it might be good for her to defeat May, but the problem was Ash. She knew he wasn't your average trainer in terms of skill or sheer luck. That may have been part of the reason she liked him as she did. Her liking him might not help her in a battle. The advantage on her side was she prided herself in knowing her crush inside and out, and that included how he battled.

"Yeah! Thanks for letting up with you, Dawn! We're gonna win for sure, you and me!" Max added, with confidence.

The group started heading toward the ferry that would take them over a long river toward the eastern part of the Resort Area. They would take it to get over to the actual tourist area, where they planned to find a place to stay over their trip.

"Oh yeah? Why's that, Max?" May asked.

"I've got Treecko and Ralts, of course! We can't lose!"

"Max, don't get your confidence up…Ash is a force to reckon with when it comes to battling," Brock spoke, knowing his friends well, "Not to mention May already beat Dawn…sorry Dawn…"

The group realized they were getting close to their boat, as they saw the river ahead, and some trainers were around the area too.

"So where are we going to stay, Ash? You did get us a reservation to an awesome hotel, right?" Dawn wondered, hoping she was wrong about the answer she thought he would give.

"Hm? Reservations? We don't need those; I'll get us a room somewhere nice." Ash explained.

Brock sighed. "Ash…you should think these things through. The best hotel always needs a reservation…"

"Aw, come on guys…have I ever messed up something like this?"

"Ash…yeah, plenty of times. Remember when you got us kicked out of a Pokemon Center and without rooms when you agreed to battle somebody inside?" Max reasoned.

By this time, they were at the ferry. While Ash got the tickets that would allow them entry, Dawn and May weren't going to take any chances.

"Uh…sir? Who drives this boat?" Dawn asked a man allowing people on.

"I do! Hello there, passengers! Are you getting on?" the man asked.

"Yes, we're waiting for our friend to grab our tickets." May explained, and then gave a tug on the man's beard!

"Ow! What _are_ you doing?!"

"I'm so sorry, sir, we were afraid you might have been Team Rocket…they took over a ferry once…"

"Erm…no harm done." The man decided, while Ash brought the tickets, and Brock and Max came up too, "Get on, all of you, we're about to leave!"

The five got onto the boat and went to the railing to watch the scenery roll by on their 30-minute trip east. They relaxed against the railing right in time for the ferry to start moving. The starting jolt surprised May and she started to fall over. Ash was conveniently the one next to her, so he caught her on her shoulders and brought her back up steadily. With his hands still gripping her shoulders, she muttered thanks. It was at this point that a semi-familiar duo had walked up and laughed to themselves.

"See, I told you! We are never wrong about this thing!" Oscar exclaimed at the sight.

"Yes, we knew right from the start that you two were couple material!" Andi agreed.

Letting go of May's shoulders, Ash began to swiftly try to remember their adventure when these two showed up once. The minute Oscar and Andi, a very formal-in-appearance lovey-dovey-type couple had met Ash, May, Max, and Brock, they decided Ash and May were perfect for each other, and Ash and May couldn't have disagreed more.

"C-couple!? We aren't-"May started.

"No? I'm sorry, but the fact that you two still are traveling together, and the fact that your boyfriend here was holding you that way may prove different." Andi decided.

Brock and Max, without each other knowing the other was too, they smiled internally at that part of their adventure. This only confirmed their growing suspicion of something.

"I'm sorry…we're just here to compete in that tournament! Not any of what you're thinking!" Ash finished for May.

The fancily dressed couple smirked at what the boy had said.

"You too? We also are in it." Oscar said.

"Yes, and we shall win because of our love!" Andi explained, embracing Oscar.

"I suggest that you get over your doubts and just get together, you two, if you wish to get close to working together as well as we do." Oscar finished.

"I don't know about you, but we work together plenty well as good of friends as we are!" May retaliated.

"Yeah, and because of that, we're the ones who will win!" Ash agreed.

"Hey, what about us…!" Dawn whined, referring to her and Max.

"Hm? You two?" Andi asked, looking them over. She whispered something to Oscar, who nodded.

"You two may have something between you two in the works, but it is not as bright as this couple right here," Oscar said, motioning towards Ash and May.

"Wha…? That's not what I meant at all!" Dawn exclaimed.

Brock was laughing to himself at this chance meeting with such obsessed people.

_"__Aint__ this something?__ Maybe they're right. I think love's in the air for our little posse lately. Sometimes I wonder if Ash isn't the densest of our group here, May's on the same track as him right now, in every way. Reminder to self again: I need to talk to __**everybody**__ later, maybe I'll find the answers."_

Oscar and Andi smiled at all of their reactions to what was going on. Deciding they had said enough, they left before Ash and May could do what they did last time. They needed to get even closer, not farther.

By the time they finished, the ferry had arrived at its destination. The entire boat emptied, and our favorite group began looking for a hotel that wasn't full. They walked along the busy streets, going past many, many shops. Dawn and May were taking mental notes of each shop for later. The group walked into multiple nice hotels before they found _the_ one. Ash decided to make a scene in this one, but no-one was sure if it helped.

This hotel was roughly one-eighth the size of the Battle Tower, which was pretty tall for a hotel. It was a very splendid hotel, and it had lovely neon displays to attract guests. It seemed busy, but there were plenty of rooms in the lavish hotel. The lobby was absolutely huge. It was clearly superior to any of the other hotels they tried, and they were glad they were forced to come to this one later.

"Hello, sir! Name, please?" the lady at the front desk asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum!" he exclaimed, with pride, "from Pallet Town," he added.

"Hm…that name sounds so very familiar. Please hold on," the lady requested.

She took a few seconds scanning the computer, finding the entry in the computer she wanted.

"Is there a May here?" she asked.

"Yes, right here! Why?" May asked, also coming up to the counter and leaning on it.

"Why? This is the hotel designed for those in the tournament, and you're signed up with Ash Ketchum."

"Oh…ok. That makes sense. Oh! You don't mean the teams share a room, do you?" May asked, getting scared at the thought.

"Why, yes. Is that a problem, miss?"

"Well, you see, we're all a big group and were wondering if we could all get one room." She asked, motioning for Dawn, Brock, and Max to come up to the counter.

"Oh, well in that case we can definitely do that. There's one extra large room left. It even has the accommodations for any and all Pokemon on you!"

"Really? That's awesome! Wait…before we get the room, what's the rate?" Ash asked, beginning to get worried about his wallet's lifespan after the words _extra large_ were mentioned.

Holding off the question for one of her own, she asked, "What are your names, you three."

"I'm Brock," the tall one said.

"I'm Dawn," the girl said.

"And I'm Max," the little boy said.

She looked again through the list.

"Ah, Dawn and Max, you also are signed up, correct?"

"Yeah, we are," Max replied.

"Then the answer to your question, Ash Ketchum, is that the room is complimentary since…most of you are competing. Like I said, it's modeled for the Battle Tower participants."

She handed the group the keys to their new room and began entering the occupants into the computer. Dawn led the five to the room, since she was already dying to get to this luxurious room. They went to floor eight and opened the room. They all went inside and Brock flicked on the lights. What they saw astonished them. They did not expect a room so big. It had four beds and plenty of nooks around the room for the Pokemon, they guessed. They decided to go ahead to let everybody out of their Pokeballs.

Max let out his Treecko and Ralts, who were relieved to be out of their containment. Dawn let out her Prinplup, Pachirisu, Ambipom, Chatot, Sunflora, and her newly-evolved Lopunny. Brock let out Sudowoodo, Marshtomp, Crobat, and Ludicolo. Croagunk came out before Brock could reach its Pokeball. He whispered an apology to Steelix, who he kept in the Pokeball for obvious size problems. May let out her Skitty, Munchlax, Bulbasaur, Blaziken, Teddiursa, and Burmy. Ash let out Bulbasaur, Staraptor, Cyndaquil, and Floatzel. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and joined the others. He also apologized to Snorlax for the obvious size problems in the room. Even though the room was spacious, it couldn't handle a Steelix or Snorlax.

May's Bulbasaur ran over to Ash's and decided instantly on a little cubby with a nice little bed. Treecko and Ralts didn't know the others too well, so they decided to share a cubby above the bed Max picked. Crobat decided to stay on a pipe running along near the ceiling, and would hang from it. Dawn's Chatot gave a cheery "Not to worry!" in Dawn's voice before following Staraptor into a little crevice near the ceiling with some nest-like beds, probably for the bird Pokemon like themselves. Croagunk explored the room, and decided on a bedside stand with a door, and crawled into it, satisfied with its strange idea of a sleeping place. Munchlax only cared about trying to break into the hotel fridge, but to its horror it discovered it couldn't. It dragged a bed from one of the cubbies, threw it on top of the mini-fridge, threw itself up, and was satisfied with sleeping on its prey. Burmy wriggled its way into the closet and decided this dark place was perfect. The rest of the Pokemon decided on a good sleeping place without too much quarreling, and were all satisfied. They came back down from where they were to stay with their trainers while they were still up.

Everybody picked a bed, but they realized it was one bed too short. Before anything drastic was thought of, like Ash sleeping with Pikachu in a cubby, May decided she could stand another trip in the same bed as her brother. Since that was decided, Pikachu would sleep with Ash and didn't pick out a cubby. Since it was about time to eat dinner, Ash suggested they would get something brought up. They all got something, and made sure the Pokemon got stuff brought up too. For their sodas, Ash went and got ice from the machine. When he went back and was closing the door, a hand caught it. Ash put the ice down and opened the door again to see who it was.

"Hey, loser," Paul greeted.

"Paul? What are you doing here?" Ash asked, already finding himself getting angry at him.

Paul walked inside and gave a look around at the group and all the Pokemon that were previously having fun. He shook his head and said, "I see you got two new additions to Loserville here. The name's Paul. I beat Ash too easily in the semi-finals." He explained, smirking at the thought.

May and Max just were baffled at this guy, but Brock and Dawn knew him all too well.

"I found out you losers are in the tournament too, huh? Good luck trying to win with all your pathetic Pokemon and your pathetic girlfriend you're competing with. I'm off to train harder so I not only brush you losers off my shoulder in a battle, but at least beat the _competent_ Pokemon trainers out there. See you, losers," he finished, walking out of the door and disappearing down the hallway.

"Hey, Paul! Wait up!" a voice said. This voice belonged to a boy about Ash's age running after Paul. His clothes consisted of a plain dark green tee. Over the tee was a dark biker jacket.

"Kyle, I already told you. I'm only competing with you because you're more competent than those losers down the hall. You do not share a room with me." The group heard a voice yell back, probably Paul's.

"Well, you better be the one paying!" Kyle yelled back.

When those two were gone, Brock spoke first: "Well…that was terse…"

May had walked over to Ash, who was by the door, to try to calm him down. She asked for an explanation, because he had gotten this way only at the sight of him, and that wasn't the Ash she knew's way. He, Brock, and Dawn explained the many annoyances of Paul to the listening ears of Max and May. May was getting upset at the stories of Paul's cruelty, and Max just was baffled. Seeing Ash was still upset at Paul's recent words, she thought of how to fix it. Hatching a remedy, she decided to stand directly in front of him, and stare him in the eye. Ash tensed up for a moment at her piercing gaze, but relaxed to normal.

At the sight of her doing this, something clicked, and it felt like a ton of bricks. He felt a feeling tug on his insides. He finally asked May to stop, as he got a weird feeling from it. She seemed content, and Max seemed relieved. His mind raced to find a memory of this feeling…but he couldn't. Never in his life had he felt such a…slamming force that could land so delicately, but then grip his chest's innards. He got lost in that feeling he had, and tried to process it, but couldn't think of anything. He instantly decided to consult Brock; he always knew how to cure illnesses of any kind, no matter how small or common. He would talk to him later, in case whatever it is was supposed to be private. He thought to himself it could be a guy thing and comforted himself in the fact Brock could handle it. He even thought it was the aftermath of Paul's words…

"Ash? You there?" Max asked, looking at him strangely.

"Yeah…sorry, I just felt a little sick for a few seconds there." He replied.

* * *

Rate and Review! Tell me how I failed last chapter too. 

So...Ash has something within him churning? Took him long enough! ;P I wonder what? (AaMayL story, anyone?)

I loved explaining the hotel room.

That is all.


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